I.D. that tree

A HANDY REFERENCE FOR TRAIL-SIDE TREE IDENTIFICATION 

One of the great things about hiking is that it gets us out of the concrete jungle and into the natural world.  And, if you're anything like me, you enjoy learning about the plants, animals and geology decorating the trails.  Princeton University Press recently sent me a complimentary review copy of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees (Second Edition)  by David More and John White.

The hefty, volume features more than 2000 species accompanied by 5000+ illustrations of many of the most common trees that grow along northern Arizona hiking trails.  Tree descriptions are written as concise, approachable entries with adjacent, skillfully rendered watercolors of leaves, seed stages, bark, full plant scales and depictions of seasonal changes.  This is a comprehesive, user-friendly tool for identifying mid-to-high elevation trees in Arizona.  Although it's lacking in the desert species (specifically, our legumes like ironwood, Palo verde, mesquites) coverage is good for the trees we encounter on summer hikes: pines, firs, maples, willows and junipers. It will become available on June 19, 2013.

The section on aspens---my favorite tree

INFO:  Jessica Pellien, Princeton University Press

jessica_pellien@press.princeton.edu

THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TREES

Second Edition
David More & John White

Cloth | 2013 | $49.95 | ISBN: 9780691158235
832 pp. | 7 x 10 | 5,000+ color illus.

Pub date: June 19, 2013